Will Replace SLA Foam With Lighter, Less-Shed-Prone Material

Enough already. That's the message from NASA Friday, as the space agency announced its engineers will remove troublesome insulating foam covering mounting brackets for the shuttle Discovery's external tank, and replace it with a material the agency says is less likely to shed during launch.

CNN reports NASA made the decision to remove the foam -- called Super Light-weight Ablative (SLA) -- from the brackets after an extensive X-ray analysis of the tank showed small cracks, that could have led to shedding during Discovery's planned October 23 launch.

NASA ordered the tests after a chunk of SLA foam broke off a tank bracket during the August 8 launch of Endeavour, bounced off another bracket and struck the underside of the orbiter.

The work on the tank will take about nine days, according to the agency, and shouldn't affect Discovery's launch.

NASA will use an modified tank -- sporting titanium brackets, which won't require any insulating foam covering -- on shuttle launches by the end of 2008.

FMI: www.nasa.gov